SubFanoBass Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 Hi all, I am a pretty big fan of Subarus. My wife and I had a '99 Outback Legacy Coupe, and though it had it's problems (transmission died @ 99k), it was beast n the snow. We live in N.VA, which gets decent snow, and we would take it out and go joy riding when it snowed. Just a beast. So...the '99 died a miserable death and we decided to get another Sub so we could get around in the snow, when needed. Got a '12 Legacy from CarMax and didn't get too much experience in the snow last year but what I got was not impressive. I put it in the back of my mind. We just got some snow today (1/8" so far [a dusting]) and this thing seriously sucks. ANY incline causes the most violent ABS action and it just sucks on turns. The '99 had ABS (all Subs do???) but it took a lot more to get the ABS to kick in and when it did it was much more subtle. The tires on the '12 are whatever CarMax puts on and the tread is fine. IN SUMMARY: this thing really sucks in the snow. Any thoughts? This is not a snow tire area. Just not worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infosecdad Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 It's your tires. That's the only thing in contact with the snow. If they are useless in the snow, AWD isn't going to buy you much. Which brand/model tires did they put on there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubFanoBass Posted January 7, 2017 Author Share Posted January 7, 2017 It's your tires. That's the only thing in contact with the snow. If they are useless in the snow, AWD isn't going to buy you much. Which brand/model tires did they put on there? Bridgestone Turzana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrD123 Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 Bridgestone Turzana I agree with the above - it's your tires. Those tires are pretty dismal in the snow (lots of reviews over on tirerack.com) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDTurbo Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 Tires. And depending on the temperatures of air/road surface and moisture content of air/snow, even a little snow can be wicked slick. There are always limitations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timothy.B Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 Those are the stock tires. I have those sitting in a shed right now. Shows you how good they are in the snow I would look to replacing them with a good Dry/Wet/Snow all-season tire and sell those. Maybe like a Continental DWS, Bfgoodrich Comp 2 A/S or we have the Pirelli P7 Cinturado Plus's on my gf's VW Jetta. Which aren't awesome in snow but do a better job than those crap stockers that the Legacy comes with. Ice will be ice but they perform much better in the snow. You can turn the traction control off. I usually do when it snows. It's over by the parking brake. Timothy.B's 2011 LEGACY 3.6R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NVAKeith Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 I too had an older Subaru before my legacy and as others have said you are likely experiencing the traction control kicking in. During the big snows last year I had to disable the TC to allow enough wheel spin to maintain momentum in the deep stuff. Side note: I'm also in northern Virginia. I run snow tires. Interestingly I grew up outside Albany, NY and I did not use snow tires up there. I started using them in Virginia because when we do get snow here, the daily freeze-thaw cycle made for icier roads than I encountered in NY where it would remain below freezing for weeks. That and the traffic factor here... a little fishtailing in the country is no big deal, around here I'd take out a parked car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nads Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 I just beat my 14' through a 8" snow storm here (laugh all you want, it was the 9th worst in Portland history...) and it did great with Yokohama All-Season, I got ABS once and it was my own fault for going a bit too fast to a slick 3 way stop. The stock tires suck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RumbleRumble Posted March 2, 2017 Share Posted March 2, 2017 only the 3.6 has a LSD in the rear too. No LSD and a cvt makes it difficult. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nads Posted March 3, 2017 Share Posted March 3, 2017 No LSD for 5th gens 3.6r. http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/does-2013-legacy-3-6r-have-lsdi-and-type-differential-197946.html One word: Tires Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
covertrussian Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 What tire pressure are you running? I usually run 36-40psi and that was horrible in the snow. I deflated it to 20-25psi and man what a difference. only the 3.6 has a LSD in the rear too. No LSD and a cvt makes it difficult. There was no LSD (besides the center) for 2.5i's pre-2010 either, and those cars did just fine. 2010+ is actually better off with VDC. VDC replicates LSD electronically by braking individual wheels. 05 LGT 16G 14psi 290whp/30mpg (SOLD) 12 OBP Stock 130whp/27mpg@87 Oct 00 G20t GT28r 10psi 250whp/36mpg 22 Ascent STOCK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDM LawnMower Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 I'm sure its just the tires as stated above. Snowing now in western Canada right now and it's my first winter with my 2010 2.5i, running blizzaks (Probably irrelevant because snow/ice tires are absolutely necessary up here) . Everything is fine. However the stock khumo's it came with were abysmal. Cant even handle a bit of rain. Gonna pick up some continentals eventually. hope you're able to fall in love with your car after new rubber Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarker01 Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 The stock tires on mine (Turanzas) were not good in the snow/ice at all. I had a set of Continental snow tires for the winter, they were great but ground clearance is an issue. The Outback I had previously was much better in deep snow. Tradeoffs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amusa Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 Hi all, I am a pretty big fan of Subarus. My wife and I had a '99 Outback Legacy Coupe, and though it had it's problems (transmission died @ 99k), it was beast n the snow. We live in N.VA, which gets decent snow, and we would take it out and go joy riding when it snowed. Just a beast. So...the '99 died a miserable death and we decided to get another Sub so we could get around in the snow, when needed. Got a '12 Legacy from CarMax and didn't get too much experience in the snow last year but what I got was not impressive. I put it in the back of my mind. We just got some snow today (1/8" so far [a dusting]) and this thing seriously sucks. ANY incline causes the most violent ABS action and it just sucks on turns. The '99 had ABS (all Subs do???) but it took a lot more to get the ABS to kick in and when it did it was much more subtle. The tires on the '12 are whatever CarMax puts on and the tread is fine. IN SUMMARY: this thing really sucks in the snow. Any thoughts? This is not a snow tire area. Just not worth it. I live right over the N.VA line. The factory tires Bridgestone Turanza that came on my 2013 Legacy did OK in last year snow storm not when turning left or right because the rear want to swing out. Ever since I swapped tires with Conti DWS OMG big different in the snow. I run 33psi up front and rear 32psi year around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robburns201 Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 Just went threw this myself here in CT...I had cheap a/s tires and would hit ABS every time just about...Found me some Blizzaks on 18's for $400 on CL and now im really good unless stomping on brakes of course... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grovlet Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 Just went threw this myself here in CT...I had cheap a/s tires and would hit ABS every time just about...Found me some Blizzaks on 18's for $400 on CL and now im really good unless stomping on brakes of course... And I bet - EVEN stomping on the brakes is a complete improvement in stopping vs the A/S Tires... Many folks often forget AWD does little to help stopping the vehicle - Certainly adds to acceleration traction but stopping is extremely dependent on tires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators BarManBean Posted February 1, 2018 Moderators Share Posted February 1, 2018 ^^correction, AWD does NOTHING to help stop a vehicle, unless by "stop" you mean transfer momentum in a different direct--and that only works if you are competent enough to use the gas pedal to make it happen during a panic situation. Most people aren't that competent and just mash the brake and pucker their butt. "Bullet-proof" your OEM TMIC! <<Buy your kit here>> Not currently in stock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slo_pok Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 +1 on tires. I too live in NoVA / DMV. Moved here from ME with a set of Blizzak's. They melted wore down in March. No more winter tires for me here just not enough snow, and too warm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrD123 Posted February 5, 2018 Share Posted February 5, 2018 ^^correction, AWD does NOTHING to help stop a vehiclenot entirely true - engine braking is more effective with all 4 wheels being impacted instead of just two. Not really an issue down here, but growing up and driving in MA and NY, engine braking was very effective at slowing without sliding (nowadays folks have traction control and ABS so overbraking is less of an issue, but things like that weren't really a factor back then) (granted, I never had an AWD vehicle back then, just FWD with decent all seasons - grad school in VA was a hoot driving around pinheads in SUVs spinning their tires in the snow because they didn't have a clue about driving in the snow... which was weird because we always got 3-4 snow storms a year) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wankey Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 I think it's absolutely tires. I literally slid out of the lane (red light) my car simply couldn't stop and there was a light puff of snow on the ground. I heard ABS going mad and I just couldn't do anything it kept sliding forward and the ground of flat. I made it stop by letting go of the break, turning my wheels really hard left and right (not really moving but giving the wheels some lateral motion) then slamming the brakes again. I'm looking to switch out my tires now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArmyVetMP Posted February 11, 2018 Share Posted February 11, 2018 It is definitely your tires. I bought my 2010 Legacy in December 2013 (got slammed by a heavy snow storm shortly after) and the OEM Tires that Subaru Uses for these cars are horrible in the snow. I am not sure why they went with the Bridgestone Turanzas as an OEM tire, but they just slip, slide, and spin like crazy. I got rid of the tires in preference for a set of Continental PureContact DWS tires which are considerably better. Living in Connecticut, I generally run snow tires between November and April though (Continental ExtremeWinterContact tires that are INCREDIBLE in the snow). Trash the OEM Tires in exchange for a better set of All Season's, like a good set of General's or Continental's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grovlet Posted February 11, 2018 Share Posted February 11, 2018 ^^correction, AWD does NOTHING to help stop a vehicle, unless by "stop" you mean transfer momentum in a different direct--and that only works if you are competent enough to use the gas pedal to make it happen during a panic situation. Most people aren't that competent and just mash the brake and pucker their butt. Yup - Understood.... I think if you review my post you'll be able to follow - I'm pointing that out from robburns201 post - even with stomping on the brakes with snows will be much more controlled... Anyways - point here is snow tires own vs all seasons - and tires definitely matter:wub: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hichamaziz Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 thanks man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eagleeye Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 in threads like this, one of the obvious things to do,...shut the VDC off with the button when you want the car to spin up a hill. that is what it is there for. (just like in a Lincoln town car with RWD and traction control,...a button). happy my 2002 VDC wagon has one,...but I use studded coopers and never really need to turn it off, (unless I am wanting to do a power slide, or spin through a snow bank and using the front bumper as a snow plow). I have been driving this car since 2002, and the VDC only activates on real ice when the studs are not biting enough. (really really rare). and all seasons suck with 30,000 plus miles on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eagleeye Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 +1 on tires. I too live in NoVA / DMV. Moved here from ME with a set of Blizzak's. They melted wore down in March. No more winter tires for me here just not enough snow, and too warm. toyo Celsius or Nokain wrg3 . (maybe michelin x ice 3 ?) are snow tires that are made to last the whole year without melting. they may wear like regular tires. but at least would not go to hell when the temps go over 50F. (I think I would still mix them with all seasons,...so both sets last longer). _ hopefully I would be the only one out on the roads in the southern US with snow tires though. quite a sad state of affairs when they don't close the roads early enough, and you maybe out on the finest new snow tires, ...and get whaled by the psycho soccer lady in a new jeep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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